Nation’s Largest Seawater Desalination Plant Enhances Water Supply
Reliability for San Diego County

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Operations are under way at the nation’s largest and most
technologically advanced seawater desalination plant, which was
dedicated today by more than 600 elected officials, community leaders
and project partners. After successfully completing construction, the
Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant has already produced more
than 1.5 billion gallons of locally controlled water for San Diego
County, helping to minimize the region’s vulnerability to the statewide
drought.

“It is exciting to be part of a historic effort likes this one that will
serve the San Diego region for decades to come”

The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is the result of a 30-year Water
Purchase Agreement between the plant’s developer and owner, Poseidon
Water, and the San Diego County Water Authority for the production of up
to 56,000 acre-feet of water per year, enough to meet the needs of
approximately 400,000 people. It is a major component of the Water
Authority’s multi-decade strategy to diversify the region’s water supply
portfolio.

To commemorate the historic occasion, dozens of state and local elected
officials, including California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, attended
today’s event.

“Since the last major drought here a little over 20 years ago, the San
Diego region has worked to conserve water as well as identify new water
sources,” said Atkins. “The Poseidon project not only provides San Diego
County with a drought-proof water supply, it also demonstrates how
California can meet the water needs of future generations.”

The $1 billion desalination project includes three main components: the
desalination plant adjacent to NRG Energy’s Encina Power Station on Agua
Hedionda Lagoon; a 10-mile pipeline that connects to the Water
Authority’s regional distribution system; and upgrades to Water
Authority facilities for distributing desalinated seawater throughout
the region. The plant provides a highly reliable water supply produced
with state-of-the-art technology to reduce energy demands, and it will
be the first water infrastructure project in the state to have a zero
net carbon footprint.

The Carlsbad plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10
percent of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of
weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for
regional distribution. It costs less than 0.5 cents to produce a gallon
of drinking water at the plant. Desalinated water will cost typical
homeowners in the region about an additional $5 per month, in line with
the low end of projections when the project was launched in late 2012.
The costs are already factored into the Water Authority’s 2016 rates.

“Dedication of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant marks a major milestone
in California water history,” said Mark Weston, chair of the Water
Authority’s Board of Directors. “The Water Authority and its member
agencies have been aggressively diversifying the region’s water supply
for decades, and the Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a major component of
that effort. We crafted a strategy of conservation and innovation in the
early 1990s, and today it is protecting our $218 billion economy and the
quality of life enjoyed by 3.2 million residents.

“The Claude ‘Bud’ Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant opens a new chapter
in water supply reliability for the San Diego region and the state by
tapping the potential of the Pacific Ocean and reducing dependence on
strained resources such as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta. It is
bolstering the San Diego region’s self-reliance, and in turn, its
future.”

Since the drought of 1987-92, the Water Authority has transformed the
region’s water supply mix by: implementing the nation’s largest
agriculture-to-urban water conservation and transfer agreement with the
Imperial Irrigation District; securing additional long-term, highly
reliable Colorado River water supplies through canal-lining projects in
the Imperial Valley; and by assisting local member agencies in
developing their own local water sources. In addition, the Water
Authority has helped to reduce regional per capita potable water use by
39 percent since 1990 through legislation, education, incentives and
other measures to promote conservation. The strategy has worked so well
that even in the fifth year of drought, the Water Authority has 99
percent of the water supplies it would need to meet normal demands this
year.

Poseidon Water is a private company that partners with public agencies
to deliver water infrastructure projects. The company’s primary focus is
developing large-scale reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants, and
Poseidon is developing a second desalination facility in Huntington
Beach, Calif.

The Carlsbad Desalination Project included 1.5 million hours of work in
Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos, supporting an estimated 2,500 jobs and
infusing $350 million into the local economy. Project partners included
the Water Authority, Poseidon Water, IDE Technologies, Stonepeak
Infrastructure Partners and Kiewit-Shea Desalination. After 30 years of
operation at the Carlsbad plant, the Water Authority has the option –
but not the obligation – to purchase the plant for $1. The agency also
has the right to buy the facility after 10 years, though it isn’t
required to do so.

Starting in the early 1990s, the Water Authority began investigating the
potential for a desalination project along the county’s coastline. It
identified the Carlsbad site as one of the most likely locations because
of the existing seawater intake and discharge infrastructure used by the
Encina Power Station and its location relative to the Water Authority’s
distribution system. Poseidon Water spearheaded efforts to develop the
Carlsbad site starting in the late 1990s.

“This pioneering project is the result of more than 17 years of
planning, permitting and construction,” said Poseidon Water CEO Carlos
Riva. “It required teamwork between Poseidon Water, the Water Authority,
our contractors, NRG Energy, and the cities of Carlsbad, Vista and San
Marcos. Together, we are proud to provide a vital resource for the San
Diego region.”

The plant will be operated by IDE Technologies, an international leader
in water treatment solutions.

“IDE Technologies is thrilled to bring its experience designing and
operating some of the world’s most advanced seawater desalination plants
to the United States,” said IDE Americas Inc. CEO Mark Lambert. “With
operations under way in Carlsbad, we are putting the ‘Pacific on tap’
for San Diego County, bolstering the region’s water reliability for
decades to come.”

NRG, a Fortune 200 energy company, is hosting the desalination plant as
owner of the six-acre site where it sits.

“It is exciting to be part of a historic effort likes this one that will
serve the San Diego region for decades to come,” said John Chillemi,
NRG’s regional president. “NRG is proud to have played a role in this
important project and appreciates our partnership with Poseidon to help
make it happen.”

Today’s dedication event included naming the plant in honor of the late
Carlsbad Mayor Claude “Bud” Lewis, who was instrumental in making
Carlsbad the host city for the plant. The plant’s name was kept
confidential until the program. Lewis’ family members accepted a plaque
in the mayor’s memory, and they thanked Poseidon, the Water Authority
and the City of Carlsbad for recognizing his legacy. The event
culminated with a “turning of the wheel” to symbolize the start of water
delivery.

Major sponsors of the dedication event included IDE Technologies,
Kiewit-Shea Desalination, and Arcadis US.

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